Dr. Huigen YANG serves as research professor of the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) , Director of the China-Nordic Arctic Research Center (CNARC)，and Editor-in-Chief of the English journal Advances in Polar Science and vice Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Space Science.

He obtained his PhD. on space physics at Wuhan University in China in 1992 and JSPS Postdoctor fellowship at National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) on dayside auroras in Japan in 1998–2000. As an exchange scientist based on the Antarctic Treaty, Dr. YANG wintered at Japanese Syowa Station for aurora observation in 1992–1994. He was the first station leader of the Chinese Yellow River Station at Ny Alesund, Svalbard, and initiated the China-Iceland Joint Aurora Observatory (CIAO) in North Iceland. Dr. YANG served as the leader and/or chief scientist of the Chinese National Antarctic/Arctic Research Expeditions and commanded the establishment of the Kunlun Station on the Antarctic Dome A and R/V Xuelong’s crossing over the North-East Passage for the first time of a Chinese vessel. During the 2007–2008 International Polar Year (IPY), Dr. Yang implemented the IPY China Program as the chief scientist. He was the Director General of PRIC (2008–2000) and the vice president of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) during 2012–2020.